Clearing House Automated Payments System - CHAPS

DEFINITION of 'Clearing House Automated Payments System - CHAPS'

A British company that facilitates the trading of European currency. CHAPS provides same-day fund transfers for the sterling and the euro. CHAPS transfers are used when money needs to be moved from one account to another. CHAPS transfers are fairly costly, with an average fee of 30 pounds per transfer. CHAPS eliminates float time that occurs with cheque writing and prohibits the sender from rescinding the payment.

BREAKING DOWN 'Clearing House Automated Payments System - CHAPS'

CHAPS was first established in London in 1984. It is currently used by 19 settlement banks (including the Bank of England) and over 400 submember institutions. In 2004, CHAPS averaged 130,000 transactions per day, moving 300 billion pounds sterling. New, lower cost transfers have recently become available from the CHAPS system.